1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to a card edge connector having latches for securing a circuit card in the connector.
2. Description of Prior Art
Card edge connectors are widely used in personal computers and other electronic equipments for electrical connection of printed circuit boards or other similar electronic components to a mother board. In applications, a mating edge of a printed circuit board is received within a suitable connector, and cooperating terminals or contacts provide the necessary electrical interconnection between the printed circuit board and the connector. Since the printed circuit board is plugged into the connector, the circuit board need to be securely affixed to the connector; otherwise, any vibration could cause the engaged contacts to separate from each other. Any such disruption may cause a break in circuitry or a possible shorting thereof.
In order to prevent such electronic components from being disconnected from the connector during operation, these card edge connectors are usually equipped with latching devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,780 discloses such a card edge connector. The card edge connector has an insulative housing having an elongated base and a pair of side walls extending laterally from opposite ends of the base. Each side wall has an abutment surface for abutment with an inserted card. A pair of engaging sections is provided on tops of arm sections defined in the side walls, which is able to deflect outwardly so that the card can pass the engaging sections. As best shown in FIG. 3 of the patent, the arm sections and the engaging sections constitute a xe2x80x9clatch structurexe2x80x9d for holding the card with its opposite sides in abutment with the abutment surfaces of the side walls. However, the elasticity of the latch structure is insufficient to withstand repeated card insertion/withdrawal operations. After a long term of use, the arm sections tend to rupture and the whole card edge connector is thus damaged.
Referring to http://www.fciconnect.com/pdffiles/datasheets/950505-008.pdf, a Mini PCI card edge connector is disclosed with over molded plastic latches. Each arm section of the housing has a protrusion at a free end thereof which functions as a latch. When the protrusions engage with a Mini PCI card, the protrusions deflect elastically and outwardly. At the same time, the whole arm sections outwardly deflect correspondingly. However, repeated operations may also cause the arm sections to be broken. Besides, it is difficult to release the Mini PCI card from the connector and it is inconvenient to operate by a user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,318 provides a memory module socket with latches. The latches extend from opposite sides of the housing of the socket for engaging and disengaging a memory module. Each latch comprises a lock portion extending from the housing. The lock portion comprises an engaging member and a resilient metal plate. The resilient plate is insert molded in the lock portion for increasing the strength of the latch. However, this design complicates the manufacturing process and thus decreases the production efficiency of the socket.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,027,357 and 6,276,951 disclose other electrical connectors each having a pair of latch members. The latch members attached to the housing of the electrical connector are separately stamped and formed from a metal sheet. Although the latch members are proved to function well, the latch members are separate parts and are very complicated in structure, which is disadvantageous when taking the production cost into consideration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,411 shows another card edge connector. The card edge connector has a latch device including a deflectable plastic member and a deflectable metal member. The plastic and metal members cooperatively lock an inserted card to the connector. Nevertheless, it still complicates the manufacturing process and increases the production cost of the connector.
Additionally, the circuit boards in the conventional card edge connectors disclosed in the aforementioned patents are withdrawn therefrom by outwardly pushing the latch members thereof. When these card edge connectors are arranged side by side, a large space of the mother board is needed to accommodate them, whereby two neighboring connectors can have a gap therebetween large enough to permit the outward operation of the latch members thereof. Estate of the mother board is more and more precious when the computers are made to be more and more compact.
Hence, in order to overcome the above-mentioned prior art shortcoming, it is necessary to provide a card edge connector having an improved latch member.
Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having latch members which can secure a circuit card to the electrical connector.
A second object of the present invention is to provide improved latch members for a card edge connector which have good resilience and facilitate manual withdrawal of a circuit card from the card edge connector.
A third object of the present invention is to provide improved latch members for a card edge connector which have a simple structure, thereby simplifying manufacturing process and reducing production cost.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide improved latch members for a card edge connector which have a new latching method and a new card withdrawal method through squeezing the latch members inwardly, thereby allowing for side by side arrangement of connectors occupying a small space of a mother board.
In order to achieve the objects set forth, a card edge connector in accordance with the present invention comprises an insulative housing having an elongated base and a pair of supporting arms extending from opposite ends of the base, a plurality of conductive terminals fixed to the base and a pair of latch members disposed at free ends of the pair of supporting arms. Each latch member has a latch tab for locking a circuit card. The base defines an elongated slot along a longitudinal direction thereof and a plurality of passageways disposed by two sides of the slot for receiving the conductive terminals therein. Each terminal extends into the slot for engagement with the inserted circuit card.